The Results

Submitted by Eileen Rademacher

Dear Family and Friends,

These are the children that received the bedkits with the money raised at my recent Art & Craft show.

What a great group of children! Thank you so much for your support.

Eileen

Belgaum trip reports posted

The donor newsletter for the Belgaum bedkit distribution has gone to print and can be downloaded from the Sleeping Children Website.

Belgaum Photos 2010

Photos are available in the Belgaum 2009 Photo Album. You can view them by clicking the link above.

If you would like to read the reports on the web, you can read them in their entirety here.

Here is a download link for the PDF version of the newsletter.

Mumbai trip reports posted

The donor newsletter for the Mumbai bedkit distribution has gone to print and can be downloaded from the Sleeping Children Website.

Mumbai Photos 2010

Photos are available in the Mumbai 2009 Photo Album. You can view them by clicking the link above.

If you would like to read the reports on the web, you can read them in their entirety here.

Here is a download link for the PDF version of the newsletter.

Pune trip reports posted

The donor newsletter for the Pune bedkit distribution has gone to print and can be downloaded from the Sleeping Children Website.

Pune 2010 Photos

Photos are available in the Pune 2009 Photo Album. You can view them by clicking the link above.

If you would like to read the reports on the web, you can read them in their entirety here.

Here is a download link for the PDF version of the newsletter.

Ambiance Singers concert for Sleeping Children

Click graphic for a larger version.

The Ambience Singers

directed by Danny McErlain

Special Guest: Bill McBirnie
Canada's Première Jazz and Latin Flautist

Saturday, May 8, 2010 - 8 PM
Living Arts Centre — RBC Theatre

You can buy tickets online.

All net proceeds of this concert
will be donated to
Sleeping Children Around the World

Gift of sleep priceless

"(A mother of two girls in India) was thrilled that they could go to school rested, and with some basic school supplies. Their only way out of that place of poverty was through education." Tom Belton, volunteer, Sleeping Children Around the World (SCAW)

As published in The Ottawa Citizen
March 15, 2010

Different tool in fight against child poverty
BY DAVE BROWN, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN

The interview pushed Tom Belton into memory territory he thought he had put behind, and a trace of discomfort showed.

The retired Ottawa businessman is a longtime volunteer with one of the country's lesser-known charities -- Sleeping Children Around the World (SCAW). Founded in 1970 by Margaret and Murray Dryden, parents of MP and hockey great Ken Dryden, its aim is simply to provide the world's poorest children with some basics, such as a bed, a toothbrush and minimum school supplies.

The Drydens' aim was to give the gift of a good night's sleep to a million of the world's poorest children. That goal was passed two years ago.

As a volunteer, Belton's job, like hundreds of other volunteers, is to deliver donated bedkits, conduct a brief interview, and report back to the person who donated the $35 that paid for the bed package. "The names don't stay with you, but I remember a mother (in India), obviously undernourished, with her daughter, about eight, standing beside her looking well-nourished."

"The father had died of cancer years earlier leaving the widow to raise two daughters on her own. There's no social system to assist a family like this," he says.

"They lived in a hut without running water, toilet or electricity. Cooking was over an open fire. Mother worked in a quarry, smashing rock into sand by hand, using a heavy hammer. She was paid the equivalent of $1 a day. It was obvious most of the money went to food and most of the food went to her children. She said the bedkit would be shared by her two children and was thrilled that they could go to school rested, and with some basic school supplies. Their only way out of that place of poverty was through education. I often wonder what future is ahead for that family."

Volunteers like Belton, many of them with service club backgrounds, pay their own way to the most impoverished parts of the world to distribute bedkits, take photos, and make certain donors see the results of their charity. SCAW guarantees that every donated cent goes to the purpose advertised. All work that goes into the complex process of doing charity in foreign countries is volunteered.

What little paid management is required is covered by a legacy fund established by the Drydens.

"There was a boy, about 10, in a small town in Colombia, high in the Andes. His mother was in her 40s, but looked twice that. She wheeled him in to receive his bedkit. We guessed the problem was cerebral palsy. He was in a modified pram, his long legs were leading, straight out in front of him, and his head was under the handle.

"We (volunteers) visited their home. Two rooms. The mother and the boy slept in one room. The mattress from the bedkit was placed over a cot, and a log was rolled against the cot to prevent him from falling out. We saw no medications."

Belton gave himself a shake, grinned, and produced a pile of photos taken during the trip to India he has just returned from. There are bright and happy school kids showing off their new clothing. In their world, a pencil is a treasure.

His volunteering has over the years taken him to dark corners in Tanzania, Columbia, Honduras and India. SCAW has left its mark in places like Bangladesh, Kenya, Togo and many regions of India. The organization reaches into 32 countries.

Advances in communications technology make it possible to involve donors in the project in ways not possible in the 1970s. Volunteers on site photograph recipients with their bedkits spread out around them, and with a card bearing the name of a donor to show them their money, turned into essentials, has reached its destination. The use of e-mail grows.

Each kit includes a mat or mattress, pillow, sheet, blanket, mosquito net in countries one is needed, clothing, towel and school supplies. Two thirds of donations come from Canadian schools, churches and service clubs. The other third is from the business community.

It's a success story that has grown without help from governments or international corporations. Donations from such bodies, the Drydens knew, always come with strings attached. SCAW is a case of people helping people, with emphasis on the personal touch.

Contributions are tax deductible and can be made through a website at scaw.org, or call toll free to 1-866-321-1841, or mail to SCAW, 28 Pinehurst Cres, Toronto, M9A 3A5.

brady.brown@bell.net

© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

Chennai trip reports posted

The donor newsletter for the Chennai bedkit distribution has gone to print and can be downloaded from the Sleeping Children Website.

Chennai Photos 2010

Photos are available in the Chennai 2009 Photo Album. You can view them by clicking the link above.

All of the reports did not fit into the newsletter but you can read them in their entirety here.

Here is a download link for the PDF version of the newsletter.

Kolkata trip reports posted

The donor newsletter for the Kolkata bedkit distribution has gone to print and can be downloaded from the Sleeping Children Website.

Kolkata Photos 2010

Photos are available in the Kolkata 2009 Photo Album. You can view them by clicking the link above.

All of the reports did not fit into the newsletter but you can read them in their entirety here.

Here is a download link for the PDF version of the newsletter.

Local woman volunteers to help Sleeping Children

From the Kincardine Independent
February 3, 2009
(Click on photo to enlarge.)

By Kristen Shane

It was her eyes that captivated Judy Snobelen.

Big, brown, haunting eyes.

The Ripley-area woman saw them staring up at her from the face of a six-year-old Bangladeshi girl.

It had taken the girl a half-hour’s truck ride to get to Belabo, an area about a two-and-a-half hour’s drive east of Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka. There, she joined 800 other kids patiently waiting in line for their chance to receive a bed kit: a drawstring duffle bag stuffed with a thin mattress, pillow, bed sheet, rain coat, flip flops, school bag, water bottle, school supplies and new clothes.

Snobelen was one of a dozen volunteers with the Toronto-based charity Sleeping Children around the World, in Bangladesh to help distribute the bed kits to needy kids.

Snobelen met the girl with the dark eyes and short pixie haircut in a change room. The girl had just received her bed kit.

“It was bigger than her,” recalls Snobelen.

She was helping the girl put on a new dress from the kit, a yellow, green and blue flowered frock.

Through a translator, the girl later told Snobelen that her name is Shanta. Her father owned a small shop. Snobelen snapped a photo of father and daughter together just before they left with the kit.

“In Bangladesh, most of the parents of the kids receiving kits make $1 a day,” says Snobelen.

So it’s a treat to receive a free bed kit worth $35 Canadian.

“It’s just such a gift for them. If the shoe was on the other foot and somebody was giving here, it would be worth thousands (of dollars),” says Snobelen.

While donors from around the world give $35 for each kit, and local service groups such as Lions or Rotary clubs buy the supplies and select the poor children from schools in the recipient countries, Canadian volunteers such as Snobelen distribute the kits to the kids. Sleeping Children organizes a dozen or so trips a year, about one each month, sending teams of six to developing countries to give away the kits.
Snobelen’s two-week trip to Bangladesh in October was her fourth as a Sleeping Children volunteer. Since starting the volunteer work in 2004, she’s distributed kits to kids in India twice and Kenya once.

She first heard about Sleeping Children when a cousin used the group to donate a bed kit in memory of Snobelen’s grandfather, after his death several years ago.

In 2003, Snobelen started the orientation process to become a volunteer overseas.
“Sometimes, the time is right,” she explains. She rents her land near Ripley to her family’s farming business. She babysits her grandkids, but is otherwise retired. So she says she is fortunate enough to have the time and money to volunteer.

Sleeping Children spends all of the bed kit donor money it receives on the kits. Its Toronto headquarters is the former home of the group’s founders, Murray and Margaret Dryden, who donated the property to the charity after their deaths. The only paid staff member is funded through a trust set up by the Drydens, said Snobelen. The rest of the work is done by volunteers. They pay their own way to distribute the bed kits.

“We have the best job. We’re the lucky ones. We’re the ones who get to touch these kids,” says Snobelen, gazing her sparkly eyes at one of the photos she snapped of Shanta.

It feels good to give, and receive, the bed kits.

Snobelen sits at her kitchen table, looking outside a nearby window to snow-covered fields, and thinks about the long, humid distribution days in Bangladesh in which volunteers distributed a total of 9,000 bed kits.

The recipients were always excited, but could also be apprehensive because of the whirlwind of activity and white-faced foreigners giving out the kits, she says.
“It’s just such a gift for them to think that somebody else from another country would be giving to them.”

Donors from all over the world give to Sleeping Children. That’s why Snobelen was so surprised to see a few local names pop up in the stacks of paper labels that correspond with each bed kit.

Part of the Canadian volunteers’ job is also to take photos of each recipient with the contents of their kit. Sleeping Children sends each photo to the donor who paid for that kit to show that their money reached its destination.

At one of the five distribution points on her latest trip, Snobelen says, “I came across this label, it says: ‘Shirley Vogan, Happy Retirement.’”

Vogan is a teacher who used to work at Elgin Market Public School in Kincardine. Several of her colleagues at the school bought bed kits in her name when she retired.

Snobelen was also there when bed kits were given in the name of her granddaughters, Brooke and Annie Leppington. The girls raised money for Sleeping Children instead of accepting birthday presents at their most recent joint birthday party.

“It’s pretty neat when you see some that are close to home,” says Snobelen.

Her overseas experiences have taught her how lucky Canadian kids are.

“They have lots of food, lots of shelter, lots of material things,” she says. “But we see these kids over there, these families, living in an eight-by-ten shanty. There are not a lot of material things.”

It’s part of the reason why Sleeping Children focuses on poor kids in developing countries rather than Canada.

“There’s such a difference being poor in Canada and being poor in Bangladesh,” she says.

There’s often no welfare or other social safety nets to help people in developing countries.

Which brings Snobelen back to Shanta. She holds her hand to her heart and looks at a photo of the girl and her father.

“You’d just like to follow her home.”

Making a difference

Click photos to see larger version

As published in the Stratford Beacon Herald February 1, 2010


Sleeping Children Around the World: Dave Dryden thanks Knox congregation.

by Dan Schwab

Former NHLer Dave Dryden recalls that when he was growing up his father was adamant that his two sons get enough sleep every night.

"He would always say, 'Dave, have you got a game tomorrow? Get a good night's sleep. Ken, got an exam tomorrow? Get a good night's sleep,'" says Dryden, who is the brother of Hall of Fame goaltender Ken Dryden.

"He used to drive us crazy," Dryden says. "But as we grew older, we appreciated the fact that sleep is huge in a child's life. Physically, mentally, to be ready to face challenges, you need to be rested."

Dryden, a former goaltender with the Edmonton Oilers and Buffalo Sabres, spread his father's message about the importance of children getting enough sleep during an address to the congregation at Knox Presbyterian Church Jan. 31.

Dryden's father Murray founded the Sleeping Children Around the World (SCAW) organization in 1970, when he gave out 50 bed kits to needy children in India. Since then, SCAW has sent more than one million bed kits to children in 34 countries.

A donation of $35 covers the cost of a bed kit, which includes a mattress, bed sheet, blanket, pillow, mosquito net, pyjamas and school supplies.

Knox Presbyterian Church began its relationship with SCAW when Murray first made a request for donations there in 1990. Last year, the church donated $2,500 to the organization. On Sunday, they presented Dryden with a cheque for $700.

"Twenty years ago my dad was standing right here speaking to you," Dryden said from the podium at the front of the church, as some of the children of the congregation laid face down in the middle of the aisles pretending to sleep, raising awareness about how alarming it can be to see a child trying to sleep without a bed.

"It's such a great feeling to feel the passion in this sanctuary from all the efforts of the people in Stratford who have put this on," Dryden said.

Dryden noted that while SCAW is working to help children around the world, they currently are not able to send donations to victims of the earthquake in Haiti.

"We have been to Haiti before. In the early 1980s we distributed bed kits there," Dryden says. "The problem was that it became a very unsafe country for our volunteers to go into, so we had to leave Haiti. Over the last few years we have tried to find ways of getting back there."

SCAW doesn't ship the bed kits from Canada but instead uses the donations to develop cottage industries within the countries where the bed kits are distributed.

Dryden says SCAW's contacts in Haiti have told the organization that since the earthquake destroyed so much of the country's infrastructure, it would be impossible to find a company to manufacture the bed kits at this time.

"We'll go in after order has been restored," Dryden says. "But we certainly promise people that as soon as the emergency is over, we'll be there."

SCAW is currently working in nine countries around the world. To donate, visit www.scaw.org.

"It's such a great feeling to feel the passion in this sanctuary from all the efforts of the people in Stratford who have put this on."

Dave Dryden

Owen Sound: Thirty-six bedkits this year

Owen Sound Collegiate and Vocational Institute has supported Sleeping Children Around the World for four years raising money to fund bedkits. These bedkits are sent to children that live in poor conditions whose families have very little money to buy daily necessities and items that most people believe any child should have such as: colouring books, clothes, and mostly a bed to sleep in. The goal for this year's fundraiser was thirty to forty bedkits. We succeeded in raising enough funds for thirty-six.

The Grade Twelve World Issues class of Ms. Hornseth worked together to organize lunch hour activities to raise money by selling pizza and holding a bake sale. Both events were very successful and profitable for the charity initiative. Not only were these events held, but also jars were sent to each homeroom class for the collection of donations. The students of Ms. Hornseth's class took time to collect the jars every Thursday to roll the money that was raised. To make the fundraiser a fun and competitive event, the class that raised the most money was to receive a Dairy Queen ice cream cake donated by John Buchanan. It was won by Mr. Eaton's vocal class.

Though OSCVI is only one school, we raised $1,337. Nevertheless, if donations were collected worldwide in this manner, our generosity could greatly affect the lives of the desperate.

Thank you to all the staff and students who made this fundraiser possible and successful.

by Laura Kerr-Mervyn

Lynx Systems Promotes Sleeping Children

Lynx Systems is supporting SCAW with their holiday fundraiser this year and also posted a note about us on their website.

LYNX CAUSE

Building Lynx Together
For 11 years Lynx Systems Inc. has been committed to the philosphy of working together as a team to make a difference. This year, the Lynx team is excited to support the excellent work of Sleeping Children Around the World. Sleeping Children around the world (SCAW) donations provide bedkits to children of any race and/or religion who will benefit the most; typically being located in underdeveloped and developing countries.

No portion of a bedkit donation is spent on administration - 100% reaches a needy child. Each 35$ donation (Canadian Funds) provides a bedkit that consists of a mat or mattress, pillow, sheet, blanket, mosquito net ( if applicable), clothes outfit, towel and school supplies.

Since founding by Murray and Margaret Dryden in 1970, SCAW has raised over $20 million to provide bedkits in 33 countries. In 2009 they reached their one millionth child.

To learn more about the great work done by SCAW, check out their website at www.scaw.org

Philippines 2 Trip Reports Posted

The donor newsletter for the Philippines special emergency bedkit distribution has gone to print and can be downloaded from the Sleeping Children Website.

Philippines 2 Photo Album

Photos are available in the Philippines 2 Photo Album. You can view them by clicking the link at left.

All of the reports did not fit into the newsletter but you can read them in their entirety here.

Here is a download link for the PDF version of the newsletter.

The Pinehurst Club Breakfast: May 5th 2010

Our inaugural Pinehurst Club breakfast met and exceeded our goals. With the support of our breakfast sponsor, TD Commercial Banking, our other sponsors (AVW-TELAV, EvansMartin LLP, The Bealight Foundation, Friends of SCAW and Flash Reproductions), and our donors of raffle prizes, we cleared $91,363 for Sleeping Children’s Legacy Fund so that it can continue to support the operating expenses of SCAW.

Next year we celebrate SCAW’s 40^th birthday with our second annual Pinehurst Club Breakfast at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel at 7:30 am on May 5th, 2010.

Christine Magee, President and co-founder of Sleep Country Canada, the largest retailer of mattresses in Canada is the keynote speaker. Christine is a well-known and successful Canadian businesswoman who leads a company with a social conscience. She believes strongly in sharing knowledge and staying involved in the community.

Watch the Sleeping Children Around the World website for more information.

Kettleby Herb Farms Fundraiser

As published on the Kettleby Herb Farms website
2009 Fundraiser

Again, this year we are pleased to be supporting the ‘Sleeping Children Around the World’ foundation, which provides ‘Bed Kits’ to children all over the world. For more information on this organization please visit their web site at www.scaw.org. Last year we raised $350.00 which was enough to purchase 10 bed kits. Click here to see the picture from the distribution of these bed kits earlier this year in the Phillipinnes. The picture shows the 10 children and the contents of a bed kit.

Along with putting together a couple of fundraiser specials (go to our 'catalogue' for details), we are also expanding our fundraising efforts and increasing your shopping pleasure with the help of Fooditudes.com. We are going to donate 10% of all product orders (before shipping) from both Kettleby Herb Farms and Fooditudes.com (see the current newsletter for more info about this joint venture) until December 31, 2009.

To sweeten the deal and encourage you to try our new ‘Garlic Unleashed’ -a cider vinegar & sunflower oil vinaigrette with an awesome garlic punch!, Kettleby will also donate $1.00 for every bottle purchased.

And finally to seal the deal….. no handling fee on all product orders until December 31, 2009.

*Orders from both sites can be combined too!

An acknowledgement of your donation will be included with all product orders.

Let’s see if we can top last year's total!

Game Day with the Majors

Sleeping Children Around the World
Game Day with the Majors
Sunday, December 13th, 2009
Hershey Centre at 2 PM
Ottawa 67's
vs
Mississauga St. Michael's Majors
Tickets are $10.95 each!
(Savings of $4 off the Walk-Up price.)
For tickets or info, please contact:
The Majors at 905-502-7788, Extension 252
or
Email: vyeghoyan@majors.ca


GAME DAY WITH THE MISSISSAUGA ST. MICHAEL’S MAJORS
Sleeping Children Around the World is being honoured by the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors hockey organization. They have graciously dedicated the game scheduled for Sunday December, 13^th to Sleeping Children. Dave Dryden will participate in the ceremonial puck drop that will precede the game. Many of us do not remember that Dave was the goaltender for the Majors in 1961 when they last won the Memorial Cup!

All proceeds from the Teddy Bear Toss will be donated to Sleeping Children. Up to 1000 Teddy Bears will be thrown onto the ice by the fans following the Major’s first goal. These Teddy Bears will be collected and donated to the Boys and Girls Club of Peel Region and used to brighten a young child’s Christmas in our local community. Canadian Tire has generously donated all the Teddy Bears.

The Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors hockey club will offer all “friends of Sleeping Children” an opportunity to purchase tickets at a reduced rate for the game. The game will be played at the Hershey Centre on Sunday December 13^th against the Ottawa 67’s beginning at 2:00 pm. Gates open at 1:00 pm so be sure to get there early as a limited number of Bears are available for purchase. To order tickets please call 905-502-7788 x252 and order your tickets over the phone or through email at vyeghoyan@majors.ca.

Just ask for the Sleeping Children Around the World ticket offer and you will receive a $10.95 ticket ($4.00 off the regular price). All tickets ordered through this special offer will be left at the Hershey Centre Box Office’s Will Call window.

---

The game will also be broadcast on Rogers TV (Peel Region), Channel 10.

One million bedkits - and counting

From Tanzania 2009 Photo Album

As published in the Globe and Mail, Saturday, December 5, 2009

By Paul Waldie

The Donors: The Dryden Family
The Gift: One million beds, and climbing, for impoverished children
The Cause: Sleeping Children Around The World

Murray Dryden was on a trip to Lahore, Pakistan, in 1970 when he tripped over a child sleeping on the street. Instead of just walking away, Mr. Dryden felt compelled to do something.

"It upset him," said Mr. Dryden's son, Dave. "And, it reminded him of his days during the Depression. ... It just hit him and it was like, 'No, this isn't right.' "

Mr. Dryden returned home to Toronto and told his wife, Margaret, that they had to start sending beds to street children in places like Pakistan and India. She agreed and together they bought a stack of bedding, clothing and mosquito nets and arranged to distribute the items to 50 children in India.

Their friends soon found out about the couple's effort and began donating money to buy more beds. That prompted the couple to create Sleeping Children Around The World, using their home as an office.

Over the years, SCAW has raised more than $20-million and now has 90 volunteers who work with agencies in countries across Asia, Africa and South America. This year the organization delivered its one millionth bed kit, made up of a mattress, mosquito net, clothing, school uniform and school supplies.

Ms. Dryden died in 1985 and Mr. Dryden in 2004. They donated their home to the organization and a $3-million fund to cover all future administrative costs. The donation has meant that every dollar donated to the charity goes directly to buying bed kit supplies.

The couple's children - Judy and former NHL players Dave and Ken - have carried on the legacy.

Dave is chairman of SCAW and is heading to India in February with Judy to deliver 4,000 kits (Ken, a Toronto area member of Parliament, wanted to go but couldn't because of his parliamentary duties). All of the kit supplies are bought locally and Dave said the organization hopes to deliver 75,000 kits next year.

"It's awesome," he said when asked what it was like to deliver a kit to a child. "You are out in the rural countryside and these people don't have anything. To get a bed kit like that, it has a huge impact on their lives.

"What we are finding is that by giving a kid a good night's sleep and then the clothing to go to school, and the school supplies, we really are having an impact on their education."

pwaldie@globeandmail.com

A Christmas Carol

To celebrate the season, Windermere United Church is hosting a dramatic reading of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol in support of SCAW.

With Lorenda Redekopp of CBC Radio 1

With Other ‘Celebrity Readers’ and Special Seasonal Music

Sunday, December 6, 7:30pm

Windermere United Church

356 Windermere Avenue
2 Blocks south of Bloor Street

www.windermerechurch.ca

"SCAW volunteer, our own inimitable Karen Shouldice, will be reading Stave 1. I've seen Karen on stage and you are in for a treat! Come out and cheer for Karen and SCAW. Please wear your name badge in case anyone has questions about SCAW.

$15.00 donation at the door with all proceeds to Sleeping Children Around the World.

Win for Charity

As published in the Daytripping magazine
September/October, 2009

Shirley Aerts, of Strathroy, helped to deliver 6,015 bedkits for Sleeping Children Around the World in Uganda. Photo taken by Annette Arnold.

When the photo was published, she won $25 for Sleeping Children Around the World.

Wish List: Clean living

From The National Post
November 28, 2009

This time of year, I’m in full holiday shopping guide mode and immersed in gift-giving this and must-have product thats. Surrounded by so much stuff, I feel a little dirty. And yet the impetus at the holidays is to give, even when sometimes we can ill-afford to do so. Which is why I was struck by Consonant’s new limited-run Help Somebody Soap ). Consonant is donating 100% of the sale price - that’s twelve bucks from each and every one of the 1,000 bars for a total of $12,000 - to the Canadian-based organization Sleeping Children Around the World (scaw.org). So what, right? So many companies donate a percentage or portion of proceeds to charity these days. Thing is, Consonant isn’t exactly Body Shop or The Gap; it’s not even a mid-size company. Owner Bill Baker launched the fledging organic body care brand just last year, after leaving his job in advertising. “I have financed every penny of this business myself,” he says. “We’re not even a six-figure business this year so the donation will be a big percentage of our sales. We’re a very modest business but I’m investing for the long haul and this charitable giving part has been part of the DNA from the beginning.” Baker also went 100% because, he also admits, he’s “a bit cynical” about other companies and their donation formulas. “Is that 25 cents on $20? Is that half of the profits before tax or after? Do you deduct margin, marketing funds and advertising dollars?”

Donation aside, why pay $12 for a bar of soap when some mass brands sell three to a pack for four bucks? “You’re paying more for what’s not in it,” says Baker. That means no animal by-products or any of the regular unpronounceable synthetic ingredients found in cheap bars of soap (some of which been otherwise banned in American baby foods). No trace elements of herbicides, pesticides or hormones, no chemical preservatives. “Bar soap, made properly and saponified properly, is not vulnerable to bacteria and doesn’t need preservatives anyway,” says Baker. Consonant's charity of choice, SCAW, takes a similar approach. It was started by Murray Dryden, father of hockey players Dave and Ken Dryden, who created a trust to cover administrative costs. “So when you give $35 toward a bed kit for a needy child in a developing country, it’s $35 for a bed kit,” Baker says proudly. I feel cleaner already.

Help Somebody Soap is $12, at Delineation, The Bay and Sears downtown flagships in major cities and specialty retailers across Canada (or buy online at Helpsomebodysoap.com)